


danger signs

by poloniusthegiraffe



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: AU, B99 Summer 2020 Fic Exchange, Carnival, F/M, Fluff, MeetCute, Teenagers, vomit warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26448682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poloniusthegiraffe/pseuds/poloniusthegiraffe
Summary: Jake, Amy, a summer day, the biggest (fictional) roller coaster in the Tri-State Area, and a bucket of cotton candy.
Relationships: Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	danger signs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [drowninginmyworries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/drowninginmyworries/gifts).



Amy is brave. Deep breath. Amy is brave. Amy has also never been very good at meditating, and to be honest, mindfulness has a distinct sense of futility in the face of what looks to be certain death. Quickly abandoning her scheme to centre herself in the moment in favour of freaking out fully, Amy sneaks a look behind her shoulder to her brothers who wait gleefully behind the metal divider. Luis and David have already left, probably in the direction of funnel cakes and ice cream. The rest of them seem to be having a perfectly good time sitting out of the sun, enjoying their mother’s packed lunch. Trying not to let jealousy burn up her throat, Amy stares resolutely at her feet, willing herself to refocus on the triumphant edge she’ll earn at the end of this ordeal.

“Hey, the line’s moving,” a voice nudges behind her. Without looking over her shoulder, she shuffles forward. 

“You look like you’re gonna be sick, are you sure you want to do this?” The voice persists.

“I am perfectly fine, thank you.” Amy has always found curtness to be effective in warding off unwanted small talk and general interaction with strangers. 

“I’m just saying, I know it’s awesome to puke at the top, but I’ve been there, and the mess is just not worth it. Last time, I ate three hot dogs and a tub of cotton candy, and my shoes still have blue stains on the white parts.” Strangely, this admission seems to come from a place of pride. Amy has no choice but to turn her head and investigate.

A boy about her age, with a smile bigger than the rest of his face, is beaming down at her, cotton candy bucket in hand. She fixes him with an incredulous stare, she’s always been known for the withering nature of her stares.

“Oh, this? I mean, who comes to the fair to resist temptation?” Unaffected and teasing, he doesn’t seem to want to take the hint. “My name’s Jake,” at this, he offers an outstretched palm.

Amy quickly flips through her mental catalogue of self-defence moves and concluding that this teenager is vulnerable from nearly every direction, not to mention not that much taller than her, she takes it. “I’m Amy,” she responds warily.

“Wow, that’s a good handshake,” he says, shaking his hand out. “Very firm, right amount of shake, good timing.”

“Thanks!” The compliment is somehow exactly right. “I took a seminar last year.”

“That’s really weird.” He’s looking at her directly, like, looking right into her face. She’s used to being called weird, but something about him lets her know that he’s not trying to be mean. He seems interested.

“I just figure why not be the best at whatever you need to do, you know?” It’s a value her dad worked hard to give the whole family. If you’re gonna be a powerful woman someday, why not start working at the parts that will eventually add up to the sum of them. So, she takes seminars.

“Oh, I get it now. You’re not a freak, you’re just really competitive.” He looks like he’s about to say he is too, but something stops him.

“You could say that. Actually yeah, that’s exactly right. I’m actually here alone because everybody else I came with is too scared of the Kraken.” 

“You mean the Khaotic Kraken, you have to use the full name for the effect.”

“Ugh, I hate the name. I don’t get why people think it’s cool to misspell things on purpose. It’s like all those hipster coffee shops that are missing vowels just because they think it’s edgy. Like, there’s a reason we have vowels! They’re the connective tissue of language!”

“Okay, jeez, I guess that’s a sensitive subject.”

“Sorry, I just get worked up when people think they’re better than the rules.”

“But at least, in this case, the letters are the same. That’s called something, my English teacher told me, like alligators or something. It adds visual interest and is pleasing to say.”

“You mean alliteration? That’s actually a good point. Maybe I should reconsider.”

“Hey, the tone of surprise, and you’ve only known me for five minutes.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Amy feels stricken. Way to screw it all up. And they still had hours left in line, an uncomfortable silence would be absolutely unbearable.

“Relax! I’m just kidding, you’re a perfectly nice person,” he seems somehow impenetrable, although she knows that if she had been in his place just now, her stubbornness would not have let it go. “Hey! Your t-shirt is pretty awesome, you’re a Nets fan?” 

She’s grateful for the change of subject. Although the rational part of her brain is slightly suspicious at his resolve, people don’t usually go out of their way to be nice to her. She knows she’s often condescending. In any case, her mother often lectures her about mouths and gift horses, and so she puts it out of her mind.

They pass the rest of the minutes in line together, maintaining a pleasant equilibrium, and generally having a nice time. As they approach the turnstile that leads onto the coaster, Amy feels as though a hush sets over the surrounding area. The dozen people in her vicinity all seem to have grown a shade more anxious, more uneasy.

Jake continues to seem unperturbed, highlighting the distinct possibility that it’s all in her mind. He’s nattering on about cop movies and their official hierarchy, and although he’s incorrect, she’s only half-listening. 

From under the awning of where they stand, the full height of the Kraken is on full display. A dizzying 400 feet in the sky, nearly all of which makes up the first vertical drop, she feels her stomach flip over itself several times. 

The next minutes pass by, almost as though Amy is experiencing an out of body experience. And suddenly, she finds herself belted in, seated right next to Jake, elbows and thighs squeezed together, without even a moment to process, before the ride lurches away from the platform. 

The car trundles up and up and up, forever. It takes her a moment to realize why she feels so disconcerted, but as she takes stock of her circumstance, she notices that Jake’s ongoing commentary had transformed into complete silence. Amy would kill for some distraction right now, in the moments leading up to impending doom. Instead, out of her peripheral vision, her seat partner is trembling at a frequency that looks inhuman. 

“Hey, Jake?” 

“Yeah.” A clipped and quiet reply is all she gets from him. 

“You know what makes me less scared, is knowing all the right things to do. Can you help me? I need you to start reading. Read all the things, all the warnings.”

“What?” His voice is low and she can tell that he’s only half processing anything she’s saying.

“Yeah, all the things, read them,” she persists.

“For your safety.” He sounds puzzled, but like her little brothers, she knows he’ll be fine the moment he’s even a little bit distracted.

“Exactly, keep going.” For some reason, this exercise is equally reassuring for her, right now she would have expected to be halfway to a panic attack. It’s comforting to know they’re in this together.

“Remain seated with hands, arms, feet, and legs inside the vehicle.”

“What a coincidence, I was already doing that! Check!”

“Supervise children.”

“Great news! I’m here to supervise you, and you’re here to supervise me! We’re killing it right now!”

“Keep your head against the headrest.”

“I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t move my head if I wanted too. Check!”

“No selfie sticks or cameras.”

“Well, I am not an idiot, how about you?”

“No, but I lost a camera off the deck of a boat once. It’s actually a funny sto–” He’s cut off by screaming from the front of the carriage. Half a second later, they’re launched over the edge into a freefall.

The next couple minutes pass in a blur, literally, as trees and houses race past behind the fence. The feeling of cresting over the peak of a hill is something like flying Amy decides. She can’t remember the last time she felt so loose or had this much _fun_.

As the ride comes to a screeching stop, Amy looks to her left, and from Jake’s face, she can tell exactly what he’s about to say next. 

“Wanna go again?” 

“I’ll race you to the end of the line!”

“You’re on.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this pile of plotless fluff!


End file.
